3ish months proning with Lift 170ha, 4’6 ss flying fish 35l, 180lbs. Kite foiled prior years. 30ish yrs surfing.
Month ago slammed mast all the way fwd. Much better for pumping.
Our surf is mostly 6sec period swell. Waist to stomach high, short wave rides so lots of pumping wave to wave.
2 for 1 can be a norm on days, 4 for 1 has been my best - going back straight out.
Question: do you guys move mast back when days get bigger? Or keep it same spot all the time and just learn to deal?
Chest+ overhead, steep drop days are kicking my ass on drop-ins. And then just holding on to not blow up with all the speed.
But if i make the drop the pump and glide feels like what im used to now.
If i move the mast back now, it feels like poo on the pump.
I’m sure I’ll get the 120 eventually, but i know i still have a lot to learn before throwing more variables at my riding.
I’m about 170 lbs and had the 170HA for awhile. It’s a great foil, but like you said gets to be a handful if it’s chest+ and steep. Moving the mast back a little will help with the initial drop, but your bigger problem is that you’re now further forward of the mast and either have to adjust further back on the board than normal once you’ve made the drop or stay where you are and burn your back leg out.
Going to the smaller foil is really the right course of action as it won’t want to launch you out of the water on the drop and you can have your mast in the same spot as you do with the 170 on smaller days. Not sure what mast length you’re riding but going with the longer mast for bigger days can help a lot too. When I moved up from the 28” to the 32” it made a big difference in avoiding inadvertent breaches at speed.
A wider stance with front foot more forward helps me on the bigger days. Then just learn to shuffle front foot back (heel toe heel toe) before starting the pump. But a 170 is a lot of wing even for a fatty like me in overhead surf. Get that 120/130. They make for great kite foil wings too
Totally agree with comments. At 180lbs the HA 170 should be your groveler. You need to go to a 120 if waist or higher or swell period greater than 7 sec.
Not sure if you have option to tune the Lifts tail, but a smaller tail helps with quick pitch correction - essential on steep drops. Keeping the board lower also helps slow things down (more mast drag)
Thanks guys.
After reading responses I pulled the trigger on the 120. I’ll just switch the 32 glide tail to it for now, but next step looks like maybe extender with carve 26 that I could use on 120 and 170 for different feels? We’ll see. Thanks